lucetilogs | A Pirate and Three Navy Men

Entry tags:

A Pirate and Three Navy Men

Who:

lists_to_port,

noprevaricating,

seventeensir,

straightatem
What: Cheering Archie up after

tothelibrary was sent home. CHEERING HIM UP AT ALL COSTS.
When: Late Afternoon, 9/8--Early Morning, 9/10
Where: Ocean--aboard the Joanna Joyce
Summary: Archie Kennedy was in the depths of despair after the girl he loved was sent home by the Malnosso. Jack Sparrow hated seeing him so sad and offered a sail to perk him up a bit. And then he offered to let Hornblower come along, which was a supreme sacrifice. And at some point they will dredge the newly-landed Jack Aubrey from the depths. There might be something going on with octopi in this thing, too, eventually.
Rating: This will be rated PG-13 for all the instances in which Sparrow will be annoyed by Horatio Hornblower.

There: the last bottle of rum had been stored aboard the Joanna Joyce. The tally, by the end, was half a dozen bottles of rum, a six pack of something called "Pabst Blue Ribbon", a box of wine, three bottles of champagne, a bottle of scotch, and a bottle of whiskey. It might almost be enough to get Jack Sparrow through the hours of being with Hornblower in close quarters that were soon to follow. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the two Navy men to show up at the shore. For the occasion, Jack had brought the Joanna in to the southernmost dock. The King's Men would not have to swim today.

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"A man in the water, Archie." He paced along the rail, already pushing down the rope ladder into the water.

His mind was calculating fast. A swimmer. Thank God. The wind was mild, not taking the ship fast, and the current was generous. The man might well close the gap on his own, perhaps without trying to manoeuvres the boat about. Such an attempt might make it harder on him, despite the best of intentions.

A Better Man in Seven Days went sailing over Sparrow's head, hit the wall, and tumbled down onto the mattress beside him, open to the chapter on "Detoxify! Releasing the Negative Energies that Inhibit Better Manhood." He drooled on it, a little. Eventually, though, Jack had to raise his head up.

That proved too costly. He lowered it again, pillowing it on a diagram of negative energies drifting from a stylized male torso. Archie would sort things. Once the gnomes stopped their hammering, he could join the other two men and see what the narwhal was about.

Archie took the helm, peering out to sea. "Where away?" he asked, starting to steer in the direction Horatio was looking, figuring it was a fairly safe bet.

Jack Aubrey reached the rope ladder not but thirty seconds after Archie spoke. Lucky for him there wasn't a stiff breeze to carry her further away or he'd have been chasing after her.

With his hands at the rope, it suddenly occurred to him that this vessel could be decidedly unfriendly. Maybe American? Who knew. but it was his only option besides floating in the cold water until he either submitted to drowning or being frozen to death. They could be Bonaparte's very own and he would take refuge on their deck.

..Well, probably not.

He got a good grip on the ladder and began to hoist himself up.

Of course, it was a little harder without the convenient steps going up the curved side so the going was much slower than it would have been. So he thought.

"Two points starboard, keep her steady, Mr. Kennedy."

But the man was at the boat's side before the boat could alter course much. He was at the side a moment later, offering a thin hand to help the other up. ...Of course, he didn't immediately take into account the vast size difference between the boarding man and himself.

"Welcome aboard, sir," he said as he offered the hand. "Joanna Joyce. Her captain is in his cabin." He wasn't about to be taken as the captain of the vessel. He doubted Sparrow would forgive him if he were, and the man needed no more aggravating if what little he knew of the previous night could be trusted.

His voice might be something of a relief to Aubrey, though. Pure British.

Sparrow would very likely throw you over the side for taking that liberty, Hornblower.

At that moment, said Sparrow was attempting to get himself out of the cabin. He was a sight more wobbly than he would be under normal circumstances, and was having a hard time finding his hat to boot. Finally, though, the man pushed open the cabin door and emerged on deck.

"Her Captain is here. Ish. Right. Hornblower.

Who is this flotsam we've stumbled across, eh?" He peered with narrowed eyes at the New Feather climbing the side of his Joanna.

Archie looked at the newcomer, then the captain. After a moment, he nodded to Sparrow. "By your leave, sir," he said, and walked into the cabin to fetch a blanket.

Familiar tones and inflections were a relief indeed. Though, not so much of one when he very nearly pulled the man who offered him a hand into the water with him!

He apologized briskly, no muttering or quiet voice about him. It seemed his volume matched his size; he was quite large, you see.

Standing, confused and cold as anything Jack touched knuckle to his forehead out of respect, the man who called himself the captain looked three sheets to the wind but he wasn't about to say anything. At least they were English.

"Aubrey. Captain Jack Aubrey, sir. Thank you for allowing me aboard."

Some habits.

He realized though, he was wearing naught but breeches. Similar to his own but...completely different. How on earth had he been redressed?!

He was slightly bewildered but once he saw the wings protruding from their backs. Jack stared fixedly at them with the most puzzled look upon his face. "Ah....," was all the intelligent questioning he could come up with.

It seemed he didn't quite notice his own pair of small dark wings plastered to his back from the water.

Hornblower avoided falling into the water from the man's grip and size only by seizing the railing with his other hand. Once the man was safely on deck, he waved off any apology and stepped back as the man introduced himself.

Aubrey... A name, a face. Vague, but...

He opened his mouth to speak then shut it, instead looking at Sparrow. He was not captain here, as he had said. Sparrow was. He'd give the man first chance for proper introductions, take it upon himself if Sparrow did not do as he ought.

"Captain Jack...Jack Sparrow, Captain Aubrey." The pirate frowned at him quizzically--another captain? They were starting to run rampant in this place. What sort of allegiances did this one hold? And yes, there was the New Feather garb. He'd only been joking to Archie that they'd make it their heroic mission to rescue New Feathers stranded at sea. He had not expected to actually FIND one.

"This is Captain Horatio Hornblower. Lieutenant Archie Kennedy. They're King's men, both. Ooooor Hornblower's a King's man, and Horatio's Hornblower's man, but not in THAT way. Kennedy! Spare clothing for Captain Aubrey; he's dripping all over my deck. Hornblower---you will inform Captain Aubrey that he is now in Luceti and intimate to him all of the varied ways in which he is now very soundly buggered."

Edited 2011-09-12 15:53 (UTC)

Archie arrived back on deck at Sparrow's elbow, just in time for introductions. He wondered, very briefly, if the proper response to his command to Horatio was "aye-aye, sir" and handed a terry-cloth towel to the dripping Aubrey. Hung over one arm was his largest spare shirt, which probably still wasn't large enough for the newcomer

Jack nodded a confused 'thank you' to Kennedy with the towel handed to him. He wrapped it over his shoulders and rid his face of water with the ends draped about his arms.

Hornblower, he said? No one could forget an unfortunate name like that. Jack meant to say something about recognizing him but under the circumstances he was rendered a little speechless. And the single most loudest thought in his mind was voiced.

"..If you don't mind, what are those queer things peeking out of your clothes?"

Because they certainly couldn't be wings like he thought they were. Strange coloured little chicken wings. No. No his brains were addled, clearly.

"A--ah."

Hornblower glanced over his shoulder, then at Kennedy, and then Sparrow, and then he offered Aubrey a thin smile.

"They're... They're wings, Captain Aubrey, sir."

He cleared his throat, aware of how very awkward it was.

"When you arrive at Luceti... This strange place... You get wings. You can't fly, or so I'm told, but they're there."

The first thing Jack Sparrow did at that "things peeking out" comment was, of course, to glance down and make sure that his personal hatches were battened. They were. Right.

And then, of course, Hornblower very amiably told Aubrey that the mysterious feathered winglike appendages were, in fact, wings. The captain stretched his to full span and fluffed out his feathers a bit: charcoal black, like the Pearl.

"These, sir, are highly important here. You'll notice your own in a moment I trust. Hornblower's partly right. You cannot fly, but I've found them useful for gliding down from considerable heights. Best not to try that whilst drunk or, in your case, unconscionably new to Luceti.

You've got to build to the gliding, you understand. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Where's your journal, man?"

"Captain." Archie gave Sparrow a leave him alone look. "With respect, I believe Captain Aubrey is still finding his bearings. Perhaps we should show him to the cabin?"

With the wings thus explained, Jack did what any sensible man would do and shed his towel from his shoulders to examine said wings.

"God rot my soul!" He couldn't quite see them but from the corner of his eye he could spot a bit of dark blue and gold standing out against his skin. Now that he could see them, however, the pain from their sudden existence was more stark against his usual aches. All it did was solidify the reality of his situation. This was very much not a dream, or if it were? It was the most realistic he'd ever experienced.

He prayed he would wake up.

And all at once -- as if a sudden epiphany crossed his mind -- his eyes widened comically as he leaned in, and very cautiously asked the obligatory question; "I haven't passed have I?"

All of Other Jack's questions fell to the wayside. One step a time folks, he might be as dumb as he looks.

"Ha--h'm."

Hornblower made a soft sound, like clearing his throat, and he rolled his shoulders back.

"Well."

Obviously, this was a careful topic, far as Hornblower was concerned.

"I'm given to understand that we are not dead, Captain Aubrey."

"I was dead, once!" Sparrow cheerfully volunteered. "And I see no reason to consign such a strapping captain to the cabin, Kennedy. Much more better for him to be on deck in the open air. Get him a drink, man.

You, Aubrey, are not dead. Hornblower is not dead. Kennedy's......not presently dead. We are all alive, winged creatures, now."

Archie cast a slight glare at Sparrow before ducking back into the cabin. There was some very good brandy that would warm the newcomer right up.

However little he could actually trust the reassurance of 'given to understand' it relieved the weight in his chest, and he let out a breath that compressed his shoulders with it. Sparrow's talk afterwards helped, certainly, though the man earned a quizzical look from Aubrey with his happy announcement of dying once.

Feeling a chill again, Jack took the towel to his self again to rid himself of any water left. He made a noise as if remembering something and:

"What's this you were on about? Journals?"

"They're..." Hornblower frowned. "They're strange things, smack of witchcraft to me. You can write in them or speak to them and... anyone else with a journal can hear or see and reply. There are ways to make sure some people can't and others can, but..." He waved a thin hand. "I don't trust them."

He knew that the only proper explanation would be a demonstration, but that could be handled later.

"What Captain Hornblower's tryin' to say, mate, is that they're highly useful things and if it makes him feel better he can burn a witch or two later-like and get that right out of his system. Negative. Negative toxic thought, that."

The pirate tapped the side of his head with an index finger, knowingly.

"Just beware, eh? As Hornblower has stated, what you write or say on these here journals can be seen by all the others. Could prove awkward if one of your lovely ladyfriends gets wind of the other."

Edited 2011-09-16 01:36 (UTC)

Archie returned just in time to hear that last statement. He cast a look at the captain, then at Horatio, before quietly offering Aubrey a bottle of brandy. How much the man drank was of no concern. He'd earned it just by being here.

Witchcraft journals? Sounded absurd. "And all receive one of these...journals?" It was confusing, but he could parrot it back.

And then the question arose: where was his?

Aubrey listened to Sparrow go on without any lack of amusement on his part. He was odd, certainly. But not so unwelcome in his eccentricity. Apparently Jacks and weirdness went hand in hand.

At the brandy, Jack smiles gratefully and takes it with another 'Thank you'. "I take it you are Kennedy?"

Sparrow was sort of wondering the same thing: where could Aubrey's journal have got to? Then he realized that his head was far too swimmy for such thoughts. Kennedy could clarify things for the new captain. He was good at that.

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A Pirate and Three Navy Men

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Keywords

forever and a half later

07